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Sweet Vinyl Sugarcube - I Want It!!!

At the NY Audio Show this past weekend, I got to see and hear the demo of the Sweet Vinyl Sugarcube.  This PC-based stand alone unit is amazing.  Here is what it does:


1.  De-clicks vinyl - and does so completely transparently, and is user-adjustable (more or less filtering of clicks and pops). 

2.  Digitizes vinyl - MP3 through 24/192 resolution.

3.  Locates metadata for LPs being played/digitized, including cover art

4.  Inserts track divisions based on the metadata (wow!).

5.  Compensates for non-RIAA recordings

6.  Plug in apps will do even more, like reducing groove noise.

It inserts in a line-level loop or between your phono preamp and preamp.  It has digital (S/PDIF and USB) outputs as well as analog outputs.


Projected retail is $2500, and they plan a kickstarter campaign soon.


If you spend time digitizing vinyl, this thing is nothing short of a miracle.  I want one so badly I can taste it.


(I am not associated with Sweet Vinyl in any way.)

bondmanp
mallen123
110 posts
 
I see the SC-2 is now selling thru Musicdirect for $2900.  As my interest is digitizing my LP's, does anybody here know  when the track splitting is available?   I don't see anything on it in the Musicdirect description.
bondmanp OP
1,789 posts
 

mallen123:  According to the guys who are in charge at Sweetvinyl, the next suite of features for the SC-2 will be out in late January or February.  These should include track splitting and the ability to send the digitized files over your home network to a server or NAS.  The hardware will not change.  These are all downloadable software updates.  So, if you trust them, you can buy the SC-2 now and wait for the updates.  I had mine delivered without these features, since I run the SC-2 outputs to my CD recorder.  So at least I benefit from the click processing.  But I agree with you on the key importance of the track splitting feature.  And I have said so to the folks at Sweetvinyl.  Frankly, if the SC-2 did everything planned for it, but not the click filtering, I still would have wanted one!


I have digitized a few tracks with the SC-2 onto a thumb drive at 192/24 FLAC.  As far as I can tell, they came out well, but my system only can handle 96/24 right now, and the ability to digitize at intermediate resolutions between Red Book and 192/24 is also a future upgrade at this time.  So I listen through my laptop and entry-level Grado cans. 


The album recognition feature works fairly well, but it is not perfect.  There are planned upgrades that will allow editing of meta data, and submission of corrections to Sweetvinyl in the future. 


I will post here if there any firmware or software updates to my SC-2.

mallen123
110 posts
 
thanks Bondmanp,  I will most likely wait to see how the FW progress's.  I really only want it for digitizing vinyl.  My records are in pretty good condition so the click removal feature is not that necessary for me.   









tablejockey
3,793 posts
 
I got the latest mailer from Music Direct, and the Sugar Cube is ready for Xmas delivery for $2k....

Seems like a godsend for those of us who are original  press guys.
I've grown accustom to a few ticks/stitches on my albums.
I'm gonna wait, an MK II version will pop up later next year, and Agon listings will have one of these for $1.5K.


bondmanp OP
1,789 posts
 
tablejockey - I would not be so sure about a MkII version.  Sweetvinyl did a lot of work to ensure that the hardware would not need any revision in the Sugarcube, only downloadable software updates.  And the SC-1 you're referring to is pretty complete, since all it does is process the clicks and pops, which is, I think, in it's final version.  But buying one used, or a demo, is always possible. 
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